Survey: Majority of US Academics Agree on Israel Practicing Apartheid
Published at : September 30, 2021
Survey: Majority of US Academics Agree on Israel Practicing Apartheid
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. scholars and academics whose work focuses on the Middle East think the current reality in Israel and Palestine is similar to apartheid. This is based on a survey recently conducted by the Middle East Scholar Barometer (MESB).
This survey is said to be the only one of its kind. Among the academics surveyed were members of the Middle East and North African Political Science Section of the American Political Science Association and the Association for Middle Eastern Studies. A total of 1,290 academics were identified as taking part.
A separate question asked scholars to describe the situation as they would think in ten years' time if the two-state solution was not implemented. Eighty percent said the reality would be similar to apartheid.
The survey provides no explanation as to why 15 percent of those surveyed think that Israel is not practicing apartheid now but believe that it will be an apartheid state in ten years.
Leading human rights groups Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem have concluded that Israel meets the threshold for being designated a country that practices apartheid and crimes against humanity.
The MESB conducted the first round of the survey in February, before the forced evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and Israel's latest offensive in Gaza. In the poll, 59 percent of scholars described Israel as a one-state reality akin to apartheid, while 52 percent said a two-state solution was no longer possible. Within months, another 6 percent concluded that Israel was practicing apartheid.
"What explains such a significant increase in less than seven months?" asked the survey authors, Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland and Marc Lynch of George Washington University, in a Washington Post article outlining their findings.
They cited the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah and reports by Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem as contributing factors.
Scholars were also asked for their views on the impact of the so-called Abraham Agreement signed in 2020 between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain; Sudan and Morocco "normalized" relations with Israel at a later date. Nearly three-quarters or 72 percent said the impact would be negative, and only 6 percent said the deal would have a positive impact.
Overall, 70 percent thought that the agreement would have a negative impact on the progress of democracy and human rights in the region; less than 5 percent said they would have a positive impact.
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. scholars and academics whose work focuses on the Middle East think the current reality in Israel and Palestine is similar to apartheid. This is based on a survey recently conducted by the Middle East Scholar Barometer (MESB).
This survey is said to be the only one of its kind. Among the academics surveyed were members of the Middle East and North African Political Science Section of the American Political Science Association and the Association for Middle Eastern Studies. A total of 1,290 academics were identified as taking part.
A separate question asked scholars to describe the situation as they would think in ten years' time if the two-state solution was not implemented. Eighty percent said the reality would be similar to apartheid.
The survey provides no explanation as to why 15 percent of those surveyed think that Israel is not practicing apartheid now but believe that it will be an apartheid state in ten years.
Leading human rights groups Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem have concluded that Israel meets the threshold for being designated a country that practices apartheid and crimes against humanity.
The MESB conducted the first round of the survey in February, before the forced evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and Israel's latest offensive in Gaza. In the poll, 59 percent of scholars described Israel as a one-state reality akin to apartheid, while 52 percent said a two-state solution was no longer possible. Within months, another 6 percent concluded that Israel was practicing apartheid.
"What explains such a significant increase in less than seven months?" asked the survey authors, Shibley Telhami of the University of Maryland and Marc Lynch of George Washington University, in a Washington Post article outlining their findings.
They cited the forced expulsion of Palestinians from Sheikh Jarrah and reports by Human Rights Watch and B'Tselem as contributing factors.
Scholars were also asked for their views on the impact of the so-called Abraham Agreement signed in 2020 between Israel and the UAE and Bahrain; Sudan and Morocco "normalized" relations with Israel at a later date. Nearly three-quarters or 72 percent said the impact would be negative, and only 6 percent said the deal would have a positive impact.
Overall, 70 percent thought that the agreement would have a negative impact on the progress of democracy and human rights in the region; less than 5 percent said they would have a positive impact.
Survey:MajorityAcademics